The Moons of January

This week, we will look in on DDC section 523.3, aka the Moon. Just so you know, the whole 520 section (in the big room on the second floor of the library) is about astronomy in general. Math, physics, and paleontology are nearby subjects.

This is kind of an awesome time to look at the Moon, both in books and in real life. So far in the month of January, we had a 3-day long full moon which was also a Supermoon. It was 14% wider and 30% brighter than your normal full moon. Some names for this first full moon in January are the Wolf Moon, the Ice Moon, the Old Moon, and the Long Night Moon.

The next full moon, on January 31, will be another Supermoon. It will also be a Blue Moon. Not to be outdone, there will be a lunar eclipse that will turn the moon reddish. This makes our Blue Moon a Blood Moon as well. So, right at the end of the month, you can see a super blue Blood Moon. Stop by the astronomy section for books that explain the whole thing better than this. If you want to grapple with this whole moon thing in detail, try NASA’s online project to make a moon phase calculator of your own (https://goo.gl/tFfUzq).

-MJD